The further along I get in this losing weight and getting healthy thing, the more I want to curb stomp anyone who says “Just eat less and exercise more.” or “Just do more cardio.” Or “Just…” anything. You get that a lot on the internet, lots of self-satisfied fit people who have never known actual fatness, or depression, or glandular dysfunctions, or any number of things. They’ll give you a lot of “Just” answers, like that’s all you need.

Just exercise more, never a word on how to start, or what you should do at your skill level. Just exercise. That, as advice, is useless, since it addresses nothing and often leaves a person feeling even more defeated than before. I get it, you’re a busy person and you don’t have time to step by step someone, but if you just parrot off the same bullshit again then you might as well have just kept your mouth shut.

Besides, there is no such thing as “Just” in this world. As I’ve said a few times, I have made a lot of progress in the last few years. This was not “Just” anything. There was no “Just” to a single thing I’ve done. Every single step, every single motion, has been a struggle.

Saying “Just eat less” makes it sound like making a radical change in my diet was something I tossed off in an afternoon. Like I just sat down and said “Right, no more cases of Coca Cola for me.” and then I just never drank any after that. What I’m about to say is going to shock and dismay many of you, but it wasn’t quite that easy. Took a lot of forward and backward motions, a lot of struggle.

Likewise, “Just exercise more” make me want to come at you with a blade. Again, we need a list of follow-up questions for that. How does one get over the crushing depression? I mean, you’re supposed to exercise to get over depression, but you can’t exercise because you’re too depressed… so they tell you to “just” exercise… and you know that results in the question how can you not see how dead these fish are? And there are more questions. What’s a good beginner level? Where do you go where fit people won’t harass and bully someone not as fit as them? How do I not get discouraged and give up? And more besides.

There is no just, just is a myth. This was a lot of work and the work feels unending.